Knitting needle



April 13, y1948. R, F, HOWE 2,439,622

KNITTING NEEDLE 1 Filed March 19, 1947 INVENTOR. ROBERT EHowE Patented pr. 13,r 1948 A Robert Howelfleominster,

Mass., iassignor tof E. B. Kingman Co., Leominster, Mass., amore poration of Massachusetts Application March 19, 1947, Serial No. 735,608

i y 4 Claims.

'Ihis invention relates needles and more knitting needles.

When knitting Iby hand, it is often found necessary to lay the work aside before finishing it and in such cases the stitches accidentally slip off of the pointed end of the needle becoming unraveled or dropped. When this occurs, it is necessary to pick them up which is a very diiiicult operation.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a knitting needle with improved means for preventing the withdrawal of the pointed end of the needle from the unfinished work thereby preventing the unraveling or dropping of the stitches.

A further object is to provide a device for protecting the stitches that may be readily and quickly lattached to or detached from the needle.

Another object is toprovide the needle with means for conveniently supporting and retaining the protecting device when not in use.

Yet another object is to provide a device of this kind that is simple in construction and economical to manufacture.

generally to knitting particularly to hand-operated Other objects and advantages of the invention i will be understood from the description thereof to follow taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which- Fig. 1 is a perspective View of a knitting needle` embodying my invention in of work.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary side view showing one end of the needle.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the pin used with the needle.

'Ihe improved needle comprises an elongated cylindrical body or shank 5 formed of plastic or other desirable material. A head 6 is formed at one end of the shank and the other end of the shank is pointed as indicated at l.

The present invention is concerned with means for preventing the stitches or loops of thread position in a piece from accidentally slipping off of the pointed end 1 of the needle when the work piece has been laid aside. For this purpose, the shank adjacent its pointed end 1 is formed with an opening or socket 8 extending across the shank from side to side. A similar opening or socket 9 is formed adjacent the head 6. A rigid pin Ill formed of the same material as the shank 5 or of any other suitable material is provided for detachably and frictionally mounting in the opening 8, when the needle is in operative position in the work piece as shown in Fig. 1 and has been laid aside.

The walls of the openings 8 and 9 offer sufficient friction to hold the pin I0 therein against accidental displacement. This pin is longer than the length of the opening in the stitch or loop of the work piece and preferably is two or three times in length that of the diameter of the shank so that when the pin is properly positioned in the opening 8, it will extend on both sides of the shank across the nearest stitch as seen in Fig. 1 and thereby prevent said stitch and the other stitches from accidentally slipping off of the shank and dropping or becoming unraveled.

Another important feature of the present invention is the opening or socket 9 adjacent the head 6 wherein the pin I 0 can be inserted and frictionally and detachably held in plain view when it is not in the opening 8 serving to hold the stitches. When thus positioned in opening 9, it is protected against loss or displacement and is in plain view eliminating necessity for searching for it.

It will be understood that the pin I0 has a sliding and frictional fit in either opening 8 or opening 9 and therefore cannot fall out.

It will also be understood that the pin I0 prevents withdrawal of the shank from the stitches in one direction and the head 6 prevents such withdrawal in the opposite direction.

I claim:

v1. A knitting needle comprising a shank having a pointed end and having an opening adjacent said pointed end extending across the shank and a rigid pin -frictionally and detachably mounted in said opening from either end of the opening for preventing the slippage of' stitches over said pointed end.

2. A knitting needle comprising a shank having a pointed end and having an opening adjacent said pointed end extending across the shank, a rigid pin frictionally and detachably mounted in said opening from either end of the opening for preventing the withdrawal ci the shank from the stitches in one direction thereby preventing the slippage of stitches over said pointed end and a head on the opposite end of the shank flor preventing withdrawal of the shank from the stitches in the opposite direction thereby preventing slippage of the stitches' over said headed end.

3. A knitting needle comprising a shank having a pointed end and having anropening adjacent said pointed end extending across the shank and la rigid pin frictionally and detachably mounted in said opening for preventing the slippage of stitches over said pointed end, said shank having an opening adjacent its opposite end for rictionally and detachably receiving said pin thereby preventing slippage of the stitches over said headed end, said shank having an opening adjacent said head for frictionally and detachably receiving s-aid pin when said pin is in inoperative position.4

ROBERT F. HOWE.

REFERENCES CITED ,The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,897,137 Meynell Feb. 14, 1933 2,234,061 Porter et a1. Mar. 4, 1941 2,309,528 vOtting et al. Jan. 26, 1943 

